History Day!

Thursday, August 20, 2009
Singapore, Singapore
Today we decided to test out the local train and bus system and head out to Changi for a look at the Changi Prisoner of War Museum.
Then nearest MRT station was at City Hall, which was only a short distance away, trying to negoitiate the streets or the malls is a bit of a nightmare so we sought instructions from one of the many helpful hotel staff . She in fact walked with us part of the way so that we wouldn't get lost - try getting that sort of service in Oz!!! - and we had no dramas at all, covering the kilometre or more in about 15 minutes a series of shopping malls that are fully air-conditioned! Way to go!
We paused at a Starbucks for a coffee and a bit of brekky and then got two pre-paid MRT tickets and found the correct platform (out of about 20) to get the train to Tanah Merah station. The maximum fare on the MRT is $1.90 so we will get plenty of use out of the $20 card!
After the first few stops underground we came back to the surface and sped along the track about 10 metres above ground on a concrete span. We passed many many of the brightly coloured multi storey housing blocks - obviously a lot of workers live out that way - and some wharehouse type buildings, there is very little actual manufacture done in Singapore, nearly everything is imported.
We got off at Tanah Merah and caught a bus to the Museum and enjoyed a very moving and interesting tour! WW2 certainly had a major impact on the island and the audio tour gave us much detail .
We caught a bus back to another station, passing through many colleges and schools - they all seem to be put in the same suburb - along with more of the highrise blocks of accommodation!
As we got on the first bus at Tanah Merah the driver said we couldn't use our MRT pass on that bus system and so we paid the $4 or so to him, when we went to pay the second bus the diver said our passes were valid on ALL transport! So the old bugger had fleeced us! Come in suckers!
From Tampines we headed back to City Hall on the cool, spotlessly clean train - no food or drink allowed into the stations at all - and then found the Raffles Hotel where we found a spot among the peanut covered floor in the Long Bar and had a Singapore Sling! The tables have bowls of raw peanuts and you are expected to eat them and chuck the shells straight on the floor!!! Some old tradition apparently. I just had a beer, but Mumsie said the "Sling" was beaut, which at $27 it bloody should have been!!! Mind you my glass of Tiger was $17 so the place would make a big quid I reckon!
By this time it was after 3pm so we headed back along the mall to the hotel to get ready for our Night Safari Tour atthe Zoo.

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